ADVENTUEES IN LOUISIANA. 181 



for your life, till we are on firm ground again. Don't 

 mind the snakes," added he, as the torchlight re- 

 vealed some enormous ones lying coiled up on the 

 moss and lianas close to us. "Follow me closely." 



But just as I stretched forward my foot, and was 

 about to place it in the very print that his had left, 

 the hideous jaw of an alligator was suddenly stretched 

 over the tree-trunk, not six inches from my leg, and 

 the creature snapped at me so suddenly, that I had 

 hut just time to fire my gun into his glittering lizard- 

 like eye. The monster bounded back, uttered a 

 sound between a bellow and a groan, and striking 

 wildly about him in the morass, disappeared. 



The American looked round when I fired, and an 

 approving smile played about his mouth as he said 

 something to me which I did not hear, owing to the 

 infernal uproar that now arose on all sides of us, and 

 at first completely deafened me. 



Thousands, tens of thousands, of birds and reptiles, 

 alligators, enormous bull-frogs, night-owls, ahingas, 

 herons, whose dwellings were in the mud of the 

 swamp, or on its leafy roof, now lifted up their 

 voices, bellowing, hooting, shrieking, and groaning. 

 Bursting forth from the obscene retreat in which they 

 had hitherto lain hidden, the alligators raised their 

 hideous snouts out of the green coating of the swamp, 

 gnashing their teeth, and straining towards us, while 

 the owls and other birds circled round our heads, 

 flapping and striking us with their wings as they 



